Quickrelease FAQ

Most shoes should and will line up nicely with the ShoePlate Top, however, the plate is designed to support shoes that overhang the front or rear of the plate and even shoes that may sit with their heels slightly to the inside or outside of the heel of the ShoePlate Top.

The ShoePlate Top has a large and stable base at the heel so even if the shoe overhangs this on either side or is too long for the plate, within reason, it should function well and your foot should feel stable.

How far can the shoe overhang the end of the ShoePlate Top?

An overhang of up to 2cm is generally fine. This can be dependent on how supportive your rowing shoe is.

We have a small sized Plate that is usually made to work with shoes up to a size 10 US/44.5 EU, yet in some boats where hull space is at a premium a small plate may need to be used on larger shoes to clear the hull. This will be fine up to approximately size 14/50 EU.

How much can the shoe overhang the side of the ShoePlate Top?

As long as the center point of the heel, that is the part that you feel your weight through when standing, is still making contact with the ShoePlate Top heel the fitting should be fine.

We have a small sized Plate that is usually made to work with shoes up to a size 10 US/44.5 EU, yet in some boats where hull space is at a premium a small plate may need to be used on larger shoes to clear the hull. This will be fine up to approximately size 14/50 EU and give you more space.

No, the toe wedge will give your feet more control and touch coming into the catch and create better stability when pushing off the catch. The centre of the foot is at the same angle as the footboard- so no difference.

As you would with a normal footboard; If you find it tight at the catch, either slightly reduce the foot stretcher angle or slightly lower the feet.

The glutes, hamstrings and quads are all meant to be used as power producing muscles. They are designed to contract then switch off and repeat this powerfully, unlike the stabilizing muscles in the front and side of the shin that are designed to produce low power but contract over long periods of time.

The ShoePlate Pro QuickRelease will reduce the use of stabilizing muscles to produce power and draw more on the major power producers more effectively via better stability, connection and the improved heel loading.

Angle
Most boat foot stretchers are set at 42 degrees* as standard. We recommend you start with your footboard at between 40-42 degrees when you first use the ShoePlate Pro QuickRelease.

(*Note the angle is taken off your boat’s foot stretcher not the ShoePlate Pro QuickRelease)

Height
Factory standard settings can be adjusted to your comfort and body type as needed.

Stretcher Position
You should rig yourself to match the same handle position at the finish or work through that you have without the ShoePlate Pro QuickRelease.

The ShoePlate Pro QuickRelease is 8mm thick at the attachment point, so to achieve your normal position you’ll need to account for the extra thickness and move your stretcher 2 notches towards the stern.

Note
We recommend that initially you keep within the above range, unless uncomfortable. However, after testing hundreds of athletes we have found a number of different angle/height etc combinations work very well long term.